Mindfulness meditation is built on the idea that attention is important. Rather, the ability to control and maintain attention is an important skill that can be developed and strengthened and developed.

Stuck in Your Head?

It happens to everybody. We can all relate to the experience of feeling disconnected, or caught up in our thoughts, worries, or judgments. And when this happens, we tend to miss out on what's happening right in front of us: Connections with others, engagement with the world, opportunities to learn.

To some extent, this is inevitable. But there are ways of getting out of our heads, and back into life.

Attention Training for the Real World

Mindfulness is the ability to to experience thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them. It means being fully present, immersed in the moment.

Mindfulness meditation is a way of developing this skill, by training you to have greater control over your attention. It is a way of training yourself to shift your attention away from your thoughts (which, for many people, are self-limiting, and self-judgmental) thoughts and back toward what is important. It is a way to break the spiral of worry and negativity that can lead to depression and anxiety.